Japan

This country/region is part of the Global Law and Policy Page, which contains information about laws that protect disabled people’s rights to participate in the digital world.

  • Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) 8341-3 is now identical to ISO/IEC 40500:2012 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0). The current version is JIS X 8341-3:2016 (Japanese). JIS X 8341-3:2016 has exactly the same success criteria as WCAG 2.0.
  • WAIC (Web Accessibility Infrastructure Committee in Japan) was in charge of the update of JIS X 8341-3. Makoto Ueki was chairman of WAIC and of the JIS update working group. JIS standards can be updated every five years. However JIS X 8341-3 cannot be updated until ISO/IEC 40500 is updated.
  • The Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has encouraged public sectors websites to conform to Level AA of JIS X 8341-3:2016, which is equal to Level AA of WCAG 2.0, by the end of March 2018. Public sectors include ministries, local governments and independent administrative agencies.
  • Japan has the “Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities” which came into force in April 1, 2016. The basic policy of the law was endorsed by the Japanese Cabinet in February, 2015. The policy refers to “information accessibility” and the term includes web content. The basic policy of the law strongly encourages organizations to make their information (including web content) accessible. Read a news article in English about Japan’s 2016 Disability Discrimination Act.
  • In May 2021, the “Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities” was revised, making it a legal obligation for private businesses as well as public institutions to provide reasonable accommodations only if people with disabilities request improvements to their products and services including their websites and mobile apps.
  • In May 2022, the “Law on the Promotion of Information Accessibility and Communication for Persons with Disabilities” was enacted. It is essential that information and communication be accessible to all persons with disabilities in order for them to participate in activities in all areas. This law establishes basic principles for this purpose, but more specific measures, obligations, etc. are still awaiting consideration.